According to recent federal statistics, 27 million Americans will leave their full-time jobs and become self-employed between 2017 and 2020. This will bring the number of self-employed workers to 42 million out of a total of 126 million workers in the United States. That’s 33% of everyone working in the country.

What’s driving people to leave their nine-to-fives and go into business for themselves? For many, it boils down to three main reasons: flexibility, freedom, and better income. People want more control over their own work and the ability to turn smart business decisions into more income than they’d otherwise receive with a fixed salary.

Finding a franchise opportunity that’s both low-cost and profitable can be tough. But as any successful franchise owner will tell you, it’s well worth the work to identify a winning opportunity.

If you’ve spent any time looking for low-cost franchises online, you’ve likely seen many businesses that label their franchise opportunity “low-cost.” In truth, it’s easy for a franchise to call themselves low-cost. It’s not always easy for buyers to validate whether or not it’s genuinely any less expensive than other opportunities after considering the potential for a healthy return on investment.

In 2008, the recession offered a painful, but important lesson for those looking to buy a franchise or start their own business: some industries are more recession-resilient than others.

While it’s impossible to say any industry is 100% recession proof, many industries continued to do well and even thrive during the economic slowdown.

The recession showed us something else, too: people turn to franchising in times where the economy is strained or could likely become strained. Why? People want more control of their future with a business that comes with proven systems and support.

Today, one out of every 12 companies has a franchise business model for entrepreneurs to invest in. Franchising has been growing steadily for years, thanks in part to more opportunities and an increasingly attractive path to business ownership.

With training, systems, and support already baked into the franchise package, it’s easy to see why new business owners are turning to franchisors rather than going it alone. Still, despite the success among franchisees, the process of actually buying a franchise isn’t something most first-time buyers are familiar with.

To help buyers through this, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has an excellent guide to buying a franchise you can find here. As a supplement, we’ve created our own step-by-step guide here. We suggest checking both of these resources out first and then using the checklist below to make sure you’re covering the important points throughout the process.

Get real-life advice for buying a franchise from those who’ve done it themselves. Grab our free guide: What it’s Like to be a Groutsmith: a Q&A with 8 franchise owners.

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The steps to becoming a handyman can look different depending on the way you want to get trained and transition into a business.

Some people choose to attend a trade or vocational school. Others choose the faster (and often less expensive) option of franchising with a professional services company that offers both training and a viable business opportunity.

While it’s pretty easy to find schools and vocational programs for learning a skill or trade, there are not many resources that explain how franchising with the right service company can offer all the training you need, just faster and often cheaper.

This guide offers just that: a look into a simpler path that just about anyone can take––even with zero handyman or professional service experience. Not only will you learn in-demand skills, but also the systems, processes, and support you need to run and grow a business.